Swat peace deal in danger after teenaged girl's 'barbaric' flogging

Lahore, Apr. 7 (ANI): The video footage of the teen Swat girl's public flogging will jeopardize the shaky peace deal between the Pakistan Government and the Taliban in Swat, the Christian Science Monitor claimed.

The grainy video depicting a girl being pinned down by three men and lashed 34 times for allegedly being seen with a man who was not her husband, prompted a chorus of condemnations.

"We have a responsibility to stand for our people if they are being subjected to atrocities by elements that are not recognized by the state as legitimate actors. Ignoring such acts of violence amounts to sanctioning impunity," the Daily Times quoted Pakistan's former Information Minister Sherry Rehman, as saying.

She added that that the government might be forced to review its position with regard to the deal after the flogging.

In Swat, however, people are holding the Pakistan Government responsible for acting in a cowardly manner in its dealings with the Taliban.

"There are no words strong enough to condemn the incident. Where was the outcry when hundreds of people were being executed before the peace deal? The government lacks the ability to arrest Taliban, even if it wished to," said the principal of a local private school.

The Nizam-e-Adl courts are partly operational, hearing mainly financial or land disputes that are settled through a quick verdict by Qazis.

Pakistan's Chief Justice Ifthikar Chaudhry has taken suo motu notice of the case and ordered the victim to be produced before the court.

Thousands of rights activists took to the streets of Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, and Karachi on Saturday to protest, and a slew of high-profile religious scholars branded the flogging "un-Islamic". (ANI)